• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

BIRDLIFE SOUTH AFRICA ANNUALANNUAL REPORTREPORT 20182018 Contents 2 Chairman’s Statement 3 Chief Executive Officer’s Report 8 Looking Ahead 9 Strategic Framework 10 Organisational Objectives 11 Conservation Objectives 12 Organisational Structure 13 Division of Expenses and Sources of Funding 14 Business Division Reports 20 Conservation Division Reports 30 Annual Review of the Performance and Effectiveness of BirdLife South Africa 32 Financials 34 Sponsors and Supporters 36 Office-bearers and Staff Vision Mission BirdLife South Africa wishes to BirdLife South Africa strives to conserve birds, their habitats see a country and region where and biodiversity through scientifically-based programmes, nature and people live in greater through supporting the sustainable and equitable use of harmony, more equitably and natural resources and by encouraging people to enjoy and sustainably. value nature. cover The African Black Oystercatcher was Bird of the Year in 2018 and BirdLife South Africa promoted awareness about this coastal seabird through a poster, learning resources, articles in African Birdlife magazine and posts on social media. (Photo: Peter Ryan) left The Marsh Owl, an inhabitant of wetland and grassland, is almost certainly benefiting from BirdLife South Africa’s efforts to ensure the protection CHRIS VAN ROOYEN of these important habitats. ANNUAL REPORT 2018 1 Chairman’s Statement It is wonderful to be able to report, yet again, on a successful year for BirdLife South Africa. We have met, and exceeded, our targets in al- most every area of endeavour, and this at a time of subdued economic activity and political uncertainty. n 1996 the organisation underwent a metamorphosis of sorts when it signed up as a full member of BirdLife International. In 2008 the current Chief Executive Officer, Mark Anderson, was appointed to lead it. One of his first tasks was to assemble around him an Executive Committee (a de facto board) to assist him in the manage- Iment of BirdLife South Africa. Just over four years ago that committee morphed into a properly constituted Board of Directors. During the period of Mark’s stewardship the organisation has developed exponentially. We have forged and nurtured many important relationships, enhanced our brand, mar- keting and outreach, and established ourselves as a respected and successful conserva- ROB ASPELING (2) tion organisation. More specifically, in the year under review we have notched up numerous conservation successes. Our conservation staff are recognised as worldwide leaders in their respective fields of expertise. We have trained, and continue to train, community bird guides who contribute significantly to their clients’ birding experience, especially in rural areas. Our magazine, African Birdlife, is regarded as one of the leading bird and birding magazines on the planet. We have forged Our work is supported by an excellent and dedicated core staff without whom none of and nurtured our achievements would have been possible. And last but not least, we have again man- “ aged to disclose in our financial statements a modest surplus. many important Let me hasten to add that we do not take our recent and current success for granted. We could not have thrived without the generous and continuing encouragement of our relationships, many donors and friends, both personal and corporate, as well as the support of our enhanced our partners in the conservation field and BirdLife International and The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). brand, marketing At our Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 11 May 2019 I shall step aside from the Board, having served my prescribed term of four years as Chairman. In doing so I express my and outreach, deep appreciation to my colleagues and to Mark Anderson and his team, with whom I and established have always had a wonderful relationship. ourselves as a respected and successful conservation ROGER WANLESS CHAIRMAN organisation ” SOUTHERN BALD IBIS MARTIN R. TAYLOR 2 BIRDLIFE SOUTH AFRICA Chief Executive Officer’s Report The year 2018 was another very successful one for BirdLife South Africa and we made excellent progress in all aspects of our work. This report summarises briefly some of our most important achievements. irdLife South Africa prides itself on its exceptionally good corporate governance. The Board of Directors met 10 times and the Audit & Risk Committee convened three times during 2018. In March, a very successful and well-attended AGM was held in Langebaan in the Western Cape. Board, organisation and conservation Breviews were undertaken and included in our 2017 Annual Report, and summaries were presented to members at the AGM. Roger Wanless’s four-year term as Chairman ends in May 2019 and I would like to express to him my sincerest appreciation for his leadership, commitment and hard work. We held a very rewarding and interactive annual staff meeting, which included report-backs and team-building exercises, as well as the soft-skills training that had been identified as advantageous during the skills audit. During the year BirdLife South Africa also undertook its first-ever job satisfaction questionnaire. We submitted our second Employment Equity report to the Department of Labour and, since the previous report- ing period, increased African representation in the organisation by 20 per cent. During a visit by the Department of Labour, our Contracts of Employment and other documents required to be in place were inspected and we passed with flying colours. One of the main highlights of 2018 was ending the year with a small operating surplus, the ninth consecutive year we have done so. We are very grateful to our many donors, including our 39 Golden Bird Patrons who contributed a record R2-million of unrestricted funding to BirdLife South Africa in 2018. Our financial administration remains impeccable. Species conservation With about 850 bird species in South Africa, of which 132 are threatened, we certainly have our work cut out for us. Strategising and prioritising are therefore important, which 847 is why in 2018 we developed a comprehensive conservation strategy. The conservation species programmes are also developing individual strategies and, after consultation with a 132 threatened range of experts and stakeholders, the Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA) strat- egy was completed in 2018. Our focus is on South Africa’s most threatened birds. We have, for example, made numerous breakthroughs that have contributed to our understanding of the biology of With about 850 the Critically Endangered White-winged Flufftail by developing and implementing novel “bird species in and innovative research and monitoring methods. The most important finding was the identification and recording of the species’ call for the first time. Together with the discov- South Africa, of ery of its breeding in South Africa earlier in 2018, this has reshaped our understanding of the White-winged Flufftail and our ability to conserve this bird. Habitat management which 132 are guidelines for the species will direct stewardship initiatives across its range in 2019. threatened, we Our Conservation Modelling Project has developed cutting-edge research that enables us to assess and monitor the state of South Africa’s ecosystems and habitats. We can certainly have now track environmental change across landscapes and monitor the past, present and our work cut out potential future responses of species or habitats to alterations in land cover and climate. By identifying core sites that form the base of resilient ecological networks, we enable for us ... which conservation practitioners and land managers to develop and implement scientifically is why in 2018 robust initiatives that promote positive change. Our landscape-level habitat project is resulting in the development of national species conservation projects, including on we developed a Rudd’s, Botha’s, Red and Barlow’s larks, Yellow-breasted Pipit, Southern Bald Ibis, Ludwig’s Bustard, Lesser Flamingo, Black Stork and White-backed Vulture. comprehensive As lead poisoning is one of the most important risks facing ever-dwindling vulture conservation populations in Africa, we are studying its prevalence in South Africa’s Cape and White- backed vultures. The results suggest that, unlike non-scavenging birds, these vultures are strategy subjected to lead poisoning on a regular basis and the source is almost certainly ammu- nition. We have initiated multiple engagements with relevant parties, including SA Hunt- ers, to mitigate this threat by substituting non-lead alternatives for the lead ammunition. ” ANNUAL REPORT 2018 3 BirdLife South Africa took steps to identify and secure Vulture Safe Zones, which are areas that support vulture populations in the absence of the main threats to these species. The organisation engaged with the new developer and a prospective developer of the controversial proposed wind farm near Letšeng-La-Terae in Lesotho. Fortunately, based on the information we provided, it looks as if the project is on hold and hope- fully will not proceed at all. Our Guidelines for Cape Vultures and Wind Farms (intended to provide direction for impact assessment monitoring and mitigation) was published and we are well on the way to having a clearer understanding of the species poten- tially at risk from wind turbines in South Africa. In order to understand more about the Southern Banded Snake Eagle, we conduct- ed field surveys of this Critically Endangered species across its distribution in the plan- tation matrix of northern KwaZulu-Natal. A new partnership with Forestry South Africa has enabled us to begin working with the forestry industry to understand how the plantation landscape can act as a potential alternative habitat for the conservation of this snake eagle and other raptors in northern KwaZulu-Natal. BirdLife South Africa, in collaboration with Eskom, has also established a Transformer Box Committee to tackle the electrocution risk that transformer boxes pose to Southern Banded Snake Eagles. Our seabird conservationists continue to work globally. A Port-based Outreach (PBO) project was launched in Suva, Fiji, in January.

Load more

  40

Copy Link